Major League Baseball Angels Shohei Otani joined the Japanese national team for the WBC = World Baseball Classic on the 3rd and moved his body with a light menu such as running.
Ohtani joined the Japanese national team on the afternoon of the 3rd before the send-off match against Chunichi at Vantelin Dome Nagoya in Nagoya.
A meeting was held before practice, and Otani and Nootvar, who was the first Japanese-American to represent Japan in the WBC, were welcomed with applause.
Then, Coach Kuriyama Hideki told the players, ``We have a short period of time, but we have to create a good team and win.''
During practice after this, Otani was moving his body by running with a relaxed expression while talking with pitchers Yuki Matsui and Aki Sasaki with a smile.
In addition, players were seen practicing on the ground wearing a T-shirt written in hiragana as "Tacchan" because Nutvar's middle name is "Taylor Tatsuji".
Otani, Nutvar, and Yu Darvish, who belong to the major leagues, will not be able to participate in the send-off match against Chunichi on the night of the 3rd and 4th, and the actual match as a representative of Japan will be held on the 6th and 7th of this month. It will be a strengthening match.
Otani “A little bit of jet lag.
Otani said, "It was the best thing because I was able to join the team in good health. I have jet lag, so I want to make adjustments so that I can return as soon as possible."
In regards to the tournament, he said, “The most important thing for the team is to be able to put out 100% of what I can do right now in the game. and showed enthusiasm.